Fire Emblem Awakening: Henry's Bloodlust
by Flare97
Summary: A collection of stories staring everyone's favorite dark mage Henry. A horror collection with him as the monster. Viewer discretion is advised for gory and graphic depictions. Starring in order: Olivia, Maribelle, Sumia, Lissa, Miriel, and Panne. As usual more may come so be sure to check back in case I write more chapters. Happy readings you demented souls.
1. Part 4: Lissa

Her frilly pigtails were unmistakable, even when silhouetted by evening shadows. A blue butterfly flew above her like a guardian angel, which she noticed and tried clasping together in her hands. Henry is reading through his tomes under the spreading chestnut tree when he sees her twirling around to catch the insect. His normally low heartbeat fluttered like the butterfly Lissa now had in her hands. He adored every quirk and every smile. She rejuvenated him like a Fountain of Youth to see her during battle. No matter how hard the fighting became and no matter how many pleasurably fell before him, she was always there to save him when the pain became too much.

She opened her palms and made sure it wasn't hurt, then she locked eyes with Henry and ran towards him excitedly. "Henry! Oh Henry look at this cute little guy! I've never seen such a bright shade of- aaa... ahhh... achoo!" the butterfly jumped off of her fingers and hid in the branches of the tree. "Aww. Come back little guy, pleeeeeeae?" She jumped up at the branches but was obviously too short. Henry smiled and giggled, "Nya, I don't think he wants to come down right now, but if you want I know a great place to see butterflies." "Really?" Lissa turned happily, "That's awesome can you show me?" Henry paused and looked away: that was a lie trying to impress her. "Uhhhh... yeah sure, just ummm... give me until tomorrow?" "Sure!" Lissa replied, "I can't wait!"

Lissa pranced off to her tent as the sun began to set. Henry hurriedly picked up his books ready to put his last-minute plan into action. He stood up and leaned up against the tree one last time, looking for the butterfly. "Hey, you! Henry!" the voice is minute and prepubescent; clearly the young mage Ricken. His small feet stamped towards Henry kicking up dust. His face was in a red huff as he began to yell at him. "You stay away from her! I don't trust you with her and she's gullible and young and she matters very much to me! So just! Just stay away!" Ricken clenched his teeth and snarled like a puppy. Henry's heartbeat lowered again and he began to laugh. "Nyahahahaha! Aha, listen Ricken, I know how crushes work, I'm not as inhuman as you think I am..." Suddenly he grabs Ricken and grapples him against the tree. a quick magic word and Ricken was stuck to the trunk. "But I have a nice little word for you: don't get in between me and my special doves, you have a long life ahead of you remember?" Henry lifted the spell and allowed a frightened Ricken to move again. "Now how about I just hex you to forget all this? Hmmm?" "No! You can't." Ricken broke into a sprint and ran for Lissa's tent with only one goal in mind: warn her before it's too late. He threw the white curtain aside and froze in the doorway. Lissa was untying her boots when he rushed in. "Ricken? What do you need?" The Upcoming Mage stared blankly into Lissa's greyish eyes. "I... I don't know, I forgot." he scratched his head and yawned, "But suddenly I.. feel... so... tired. How about I just see you tomorrow?" Lissa smirks and covers her mouth, "Hehe, okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

Elsewhere Henry illuminated his tent with a tome and tore page after page from his studies. He pulled out a book from Chon'sin that had nothing to do with magic. Henry carefully folded the torn pages over and over. He studied the guide and followed it by the letter. Time ticked slowly by, and through many trial and error he finally finished the first artwork perfectly. He made an origami butterfly. "Well, now I just need about 34 more." He sighs and tears more pages out of his tomes. By the time morning came Henry was slumped over in his chair just getting to sleep. Lissa lets herself into his tent and gasps in surprise. His whole night had been spent folding pages into perfectly symmetrical butterflies. "Henry?" He turns and forces his eyes open, "Are these the butterflies you were talking about?" Henry rubbed his pupils and stretched. "Yeah, they are. Before you say anything though, watch this." He stands up and waves his hands like a puppeteer above the desk. Purple haze covered the desk and crackling noises came from the origami. When the purple clouds fell to the ground, the paper butterflies began to flap their wings. They flew into the air as if the real article. Lissa was stunned as they played above her head. "Awww! Oh Henry this is magnificent! It's so sweet." Henry smiles sleepily, "Y-you think so?" She jumps into his arms suddenly causing him to stumble. "Did you do all of this for me?" Lissa says blushing, Henry's heart flutters again. "I did. I worked all night for this, used all my favorite tomes too." From their backs they watch the origami dance. Lissa lays her head on Henry's shallow heartbeat and holds his hands. She blushes and tries to speak "I... I.." Henry was perplexed. Lissa covered her face and sat up, then took in a deep breath.

"I love you! This is so nice, you always would do anything for me, you're just the best person I know. I-is that awkward? It sounded way better in my head." Henry's heart did something he had never felt before; it beat to the same pace as hers, like a normal person. He held her close with his warming hands and laughed happily. This feeling, it ached and throbbed but at the same time felt painless and free. I was love. "I love you too. You're such sweet relief." Lissa looked him in the eye and smiled back, nuzzling her head closer to his shoulder. The Butterflies flipped and rolled in the air with happiness. Henry held her close and sleepily flickered his eyes. "You're my special dove Lissa, and you always will be. You're beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." "Awww, that's so poetic." "I want you forever." Lissa leans back, "I can imagine that nicely." They both laugh gleefully.

Henry lays a hand on her cheek and she holds his hand back. Henry leans in on her face and Lissa breaths heavier. She closes her eyes and waits for a kiss...

Henry cups his hand over her mouth and her nose. She opens her eyes and puts her hand on his wrist. She leans back on the ground and tries pulling his hand away but he refuses to. He just kept pushing on her. She panic and screamed into his palm, hoping to free herself with both hands. She kicks up and lurches back but was never able to regain her breath. She stops struggling, and her beautiful face becomes a lifeless stare. Henry leans down and runs his hand on her face. He tries to smile like he had done three times before, but he couldn't. "My special dove. I love you." He sat back into a fetal position and inched away from her lifeless form. The origami butterflies floated down to Lissa's body. They all fluttered and died when they landed on her young features now frozen forever. Henry burried his head into his knees and breathed heavily. "Bye bye Lissa. Nya hahaha... haha.. ha." He couldn't laugh. His feelings were too much, the pain was too much and Lissa wasn't there to save him anymore. The beat of his heart fell close to nothing. He covered his face with his hands and began to cry loudly. he cried until his cloak was wet with tears and his throat was sore from helpless screaming. He never felt so alone. "Lissa! I'm so sorry!" He yelled, pulling himself into a smaller ball.

"I'm sorry!"

When his tears ran dry he crawled along the floor to pick up a book off his table. He picked up Lissa and held her one last time. "I'm sorry it had to be this way..." Henry sniffs, "Goodbye." Then he stood up and began to chant the memory spell he used on Ricken.

He woke up the next morning to a strange body on the floor, there were bits of paper scattered on top of it. The Plegian pokes at the corpse. "Well, who are you supposed to be? Whoever you are you sure are beautiful. In fact, you'd make a perfect edition for my favorite ritual."

"Absolutely beautiful."


	2. Part 1: Olivia

Henry's face curled into a grin as he steps out of his tent and stretches. "I can feel today's gonna be a great day! I can feel it in my spleen!" he says gleefully skipping to the mess tent.

The breakfast is served, but it isn't the usual mystery meat and bread Henry likes. It's crumpets and butter, nice and fluffy, Maribelle had insisted on a different menu. Everyone else was chowing down happily on their breaded treats, Henry just pokes at them with a stick. "Awww, I don't like prissy food like this. How about something with some chewing needed? Something with blood." "You'd like Feroxi food then." a timid voice eeks out, "It's all meats spiced with root vegetables and beer." Olivia fiddles with her tiny hands and stares down at her toes. Henry giggles and spins in his chair to face her "That sounds awesome! Can you teach me? Please? pleasepleasepleasepleeeeeease?" He jumps in his chair, making Olivia very nervous. "I... I suppose I could teach you. It'd take all day though, you're okay with that?" "Nya ha yeah! I'd love to spend the day with you!" Henry smiles and chuckles more. Olivia blushes and shrinks down. She always did like how cheerful he is, that nothing could ever phase him. She usually is not one for crushes but, Henry really was hers.

The Market was an excursion this time of day. Every merchant who was able to make it stood on street corners advertising their wares. Olivia hated such busy centers, it made her very nervous. A sudden salesman yelled when she approached, the sudden noise startled her and she clutched on to Henry's arm. Having someone so close she could trust made the ordeal easier. "Let's see, we'll need... a whole duck, light mead, rosemary, and ginger for taste." "No problem, we can get those right away." "No, we can't." Olivia says, "Look at that line, it stretches out the door. Can we come back another time?" Henry giggles, "Nyahahaha don't worry, we won't have a line here soon.." Henry shrugged her off of his arm and held them both in the air, mumbling an incantation as people began to suddenly drop to the floor. "Henry no!" Olivia tells him, worried that he killed them. "Oh it's okay Olivia, they just need to take a niiice little nap." She was relieved that he didn't kill them all, but still frightened at how mercilessly he did the deed. "It's because he cares about me, right? Or he's anxious to try to cook?" She tried rationalizing as such, her warm emotions towards him too strong to question it further. As Olivia walks away with the needed ingredients as Henry stays behind. He claims: "I'll pay the butcher, be just a sec!" He hops over sleeping bodies, some begin to wake. Henry stands where we was when he first cursed them, and raises his hands again. Under his breath he utters a different spell. They all sit up, some still asleep, and put their own hands on their throats. The ones who are awake cough and try to plead for mercy, but by then, their own hands sealed their dooms.

"Alright, we've got the duck, the ginger, the mead. Now we can start, right?" Henry asks as he lines the produce up on an oaken table. "No, we have to fillet the bird, but I've never been good with a knife before." Olivia says, looking down again embarrassed. "Nyahaha I was hoping you'd say that! I love cutting birds!" Henry says joyfully. He picks up a very small knife off of the table and runs his fingers on it. He laughs like a schoolchild and tears into the raw duck, slitting it's stomach open first, proceeding to gut it with his hands, blood streams from the meat and puddles on the floor below "Nyaha... nyahhahahahaha I just love cutting birds!" He says. Olivia turns away, unnerved by how much pleasure he takes in defiling the flesh of his victim. She closes her eyes, "Oh let this be over!" She yells in her mind, just as she does, she feels cold but kind hands on her shoulders. "I'm all done now, let's get started on the actual cooking." Henry whispers. Olivia stands up and thanks him for doing the hard part for her. She showed him how to boil it in a light mead until it's a pale beige, then carefully shred the ginger on top of it. The leftover mead was served on the side as much of the alcohol was boiled away, and some was mixed with thickeners for a gravy. All complimented with a sprig of fragrant rosemary. Henry could not wait to dig into their creation, Olivia was simply proud it wasn't a disaster. "Oh I can't wait to try this!" Henry says, pulling out the knife again and stabs into the meat. He slashes and tears off a piece, Olivia winces and shuts her eyes. "It's awful isn't it? I'm so sorry, I'm a terrible cook." Henry grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her up to his face "Are you... kidding me?" she shrieks quietly and prepares for the worst, "I love this Olivia!" Henry says, smacking his lips. "You're so good at cooking, what else are you good at? I gotta know!" She sighs and avoids eye contact. "Well.. you know I'm a dancer, but just as bad at that as I am cooking." "Listen, if you dance as well as you cook, I bet you're the best dancer in the whole world." her cheeks flush red and she clasps her own soft hands timidly. Henry puts a hand on her cheek causing her to shudder, he turns her head to lock eyes. "I'd love to dance with you."

The moon is bright and the sky is clear under the spreading chestnut tree. Henry lights the way from camp to the grass-less underside of the tree, Olivia is touched that he thought this far ahead, and held his hand as they walked to their destination. Henry bowed like a gentleman and kissed her hand, causing Olivia to blush more, he held her by the waist and let her lead, following her steps perfectly. She lets out a happy sigh and holds the object of her affections closer, they dance elegantly by moonlight. Her toes feel weightless as he spins her and dips her low to the earth. She had never felt so special, so beautiful than in that moment. "Henry, this is amazing. I've never danced with someone this close." She finally meets his gaze herself, seeing his curled smile in the white light. "I feel like my stomach is full of butterfli-" she reaches down to her stomach and grimaces. That was not a butterfly in her stomach, nor was it a knot. It was the knife, the knife Henry had filleted fresh duck with, it was dripping fresh blood once again. He let go of the knife and of her, she fell to the dirt gasping for last breaths. Tears flow down her face and blood drips from her lips, "Wh-why?" she asked? Henry stood silent, still smiling like a Cheshire Cat. He watched as the last ounce of life left her eyes and answered too late for her to hear it: "Nyahaha, because! I just love cutting birds, and you're my special dove." He kneels besides her and runs a pale hand on her cheek, "But don't cry, you had an awesome last dance. Sorry though, I have other birds that need filleting soon." He kisses her forehead and respectfully pulls her eyes shut. "I'll come back for you soon. Bye bye Olivia."


	3. Part 2: Maribelle

Henry tosses in his sleep, dreaming about his deeds the night before; cooking boiled duck Feroxi style, the uncountable number of peasants he had choked in the market to get it, his moonlit passionate dance with Olivia, and the way his knife slipped snugly into her skin... He's suddenly awoken by the smell of baking. The Twisted Mind sniffs the air of his tent and sneezes, wiping his face on the itchy blanket. "Eugh, somebody's making that spongy crumpet thingy they had yesterday. I hate those." He says with a sigh. "what's wrong with their tongues? Somebody hex them with bad taste? Oh well, as soon as I find the person responsible I'll be sure to teach them a lesson!" Henry rubs his eyes and tosses the blanket to the other side of the tent. His inner thoughts burned a familiar heat, and with it he smiled menacingly "It's gonna be a great day."

"Breakfast is served everyone." Maribelle says with an arrogant tone, "I exerted a considerable amount of effort into these crumpets and expect you to be grateful! I had to wake up three minutes early for this, I feel exhausted." She yawns, sincerely feeling overworked. "now as soon as you've all finished I expect warm expressions of gratitude from all of you! Understand?" The Shepherds nod, Henry among them. "I'll be sure to thank you as soon as I'm done, miladyshipness." Henry says. Maribelle smiles "There, now isn't that nice? Everyone follow Henry's example please. He's a true gentleman." She turns and stretches, ready to take a long royal nap in her tent. Henry chuckles and gets odd looks from the team.

"I can't wait to dig into these!" he exclaims in glee,

"You can't wait?" Ricken asks, "You didn't even touch the stuff yesterday."

Henry leans in to Ricken's face, noses inches away from each other. "Shhhh... We are the music makers... and we are the dreamers of dreams."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Ricken says, pulling away from him and going back to his own breakfast. Henry chews on the toasted bun buttered gold, it leaked melted butter into his mouth with each bite and made him giggle. It really was better than he expected, but it was no meat. He wanted meat. Soft. Fresh. Tender. Meat. "I'll go 'thank' Maribelle for this, just as soon as I get a few little somethings from the kitchen..." Henry says out loud, putting the second piece into his mouth.

"Maribelle's tent was as posh as you could imagine. It was twice the size of the standard issue, and was decorated with gold tassels, hardly a tent, more like a small castle made of canvas. Henry pulls back the canvas doors and sees Maribelle in a pearl nightgown, brushing the curls out of her hair. "Hey there Mar- I mean, good morrow M'lady." Henry says bowing, Maribelle smiles and curtsies to meet him. "And a good morrow to you too Henry. Uh, why are you dressed in the chef's apron?" "Simple, silly! I want to help you get ready for bed." "Really? How sweet of you darling. A lucky break for me too, my waitstaff recently quit overnight, how foolish! Don't they know they'll fall apart without me?" "Wow! That is dumb!" Henry says, chuckling. "Now sit down and let me help you relax, okay?" Henry invited Maribelle into a chair made of the finest ebony, borrowing her hairbrush. She sat down, folding her hands into her lap, Henry gently picked up a palm-full of her hair and made a slow brushstroke, pushing all of her curled hair out into straight shimmering strands. "You hair's so well kept, it's like you've never worked a day in your life!" He said jokingly, "Well of course. A lady knows her appearance means everything to strangers" Henry smiled and brushed the last curl out of her blonde locks. "Now I'm going to give you a nice shoulder rub to ease you." Henry begins to squeeze and release her shoulders, she closes her eyes and slumps contently in the chair. "Looks like it's doing the trick, you aren't so tense now, you're niiice and... tender." Maribelle smiled "I'll take that as a compliment." "Nya, you should. So soft, and tender, and fresh." Maribelle blushed "Well don't you know how to make a girl feel special."

"But," Henry lets go of her arms, "Do you know what's not so tender and soft? Crumpets. Like breakfast crumpets." Maribelle looks up inquisitively, "Excuse me? I thought you liked my crumpets." "Oh, I did. But for most lil' lowborns, that's not what we want for breakfast." He says. "explain yourself sir." Maribelle orders, looking forward and tapping her shoulders to demand more massages which Henry obliges "Oh, you know us lowborns. We got a lot of work ahead of us. Gotta get some energy in. Something to warm up our muscles, you know?" He let one arm fall from her shoulders and reached into the pocket of his apron, prodding towards the neck muscles to relax them. "We need something with texture. Nice and tough! Something liiiike, meat." Maribelle closes her eyes sleepily and muffles responses. "Mmmmm, meat you say?" "Yeah. Tender, soft, fresh meat. How else could we be out working for you all day? You can have all the crumpets you want, but us worker bees gotta get game in their guts!" He massages her scalp pressing the skin of her head. "Otherwise, it makes us kind of... cranky." "I... I suppose your right darling. Now that you say that, I feel rather selfish. That is selfish of me isn't it?" She lays her head low in shame. Henry grins and pulls her hair away from the back of her neck. "Yes, you certainly are Maribelle, don't worry. I'll be sure to teach you a lesson for it." Out from his pocket comes a shafted tool you would find in any butcher's shop. A heavy, metal mallet with small spikes: A meat tenderizer. He raises it above his head and presses his thumb on the back of Maribelle's neck. Maribelle opens her eyes, responding to the pressure. She turns around. "Ow, ow! Henry That hurts what are you- Aiiiiii!" He swung the hammer down on her porcelain skin, striking her in the temple. She fell unconscious immediately, bleeding from her cranium. She is motionless and silent, but it isn't enough for Henry. He drops to his knees and raises the tenderizer above her once more, chanting between each crash against her shattered skull.

"Soft!"

CRASH!

"Fresh!"

CRASH!

"Tender!"

CRASH!

"MEAT!"

CRASH!

Henry laughs loudly, dropping the mallet down beside the bloodied mess that was once the Dire Damsel. He falls on his back and rolls on the floor like a dog, wiping his red hands on his apron. "Nye he, hehehehehe." He picked up Maribelle's battered corpse and sat it in the ebony chair. He carefully placed the tenderizer in her hand, like her own royal scepter. Henry smiles, engrossed in bloody glee. "Nya... ha... ha...! Bye bye, Maribelle."


	4. Part 3: Sumia

"Ricken feeds a flock of sparrows under a chestnut tree. He rests a hand on his cheek and begins to mutter his thoughts. "Stupid Henry, he's such a creep. Always talking about killing people and blood. Even if he says he's on our side, I feel like I'll never fully trust him." He imagines his maniacal grin in front of his nose, whispering nonsense. We are the music makers... we are the dreamers of dreams..." Ricken tosses a handful of seeds where Henry's head would have been. "I'll never fully trust him." The birds take flight, startled by his outburst. Ricken follows them with his eyes, noting a pair of pegasus knights performing maneuvers.

Sumia and Cordelia were having their afternoon flying lessons: seven laps around camp, a few trick dodges in the air, and man-sized targets below for javelin practice. Cordelia excels in every category, rolling through the air like a figure skater, throwing javelins like a natural Olympian. Sumia flies behind, feeling useless compared to her companion. As she dipped low to practice evasive maneuvers she spied a grim figure in the feral grasses below. He, as it appeared to be, flapped his arms and ran around in a circle. "Is that a child? This far from town? Where are his parents?" She ponders, signaling Cordelia to continue without her as she stopped to investigate. The grasses flattened as her pegasus glided downward. The boy turned his head of white hair and laughed: Henry was playing, making zooming noises and flapping his arms. Sumia smiled. This was no lost schoolboy.

"Enjoying our flying practice, I see?" She said as she dismounted. Henry made a low humming and fell on the ground. "Forgive me, I thought you were a lost child, I guess I won't be hero of the day after all." "I wouldn't say that," Henry said, "I thought you looked pretty cool up there. I sure wish I could fly around like that. Zzzzzzzzoooom nyooooooooom! Wheeeeeeeeeeee! Hey, maybe I could fly with you!" "Aw, thanks, but I don't think that's a good idea. Really I'm not so special. Look at Cordelia up there. I've never seen her make a mistake. Ever." Sumia sighs in defeat, "I can't even stretch in the morning without tipping over. I should just quit and go home." Henry sits up, uncharacteristically serious. "Sumia, tell me: Did you do better today than you did yesterday?" "Well, yeah, I guess so." "Then why are you beating yourself up over it? Listen to yourself! You keep comparing yourself to Little Ms. Perfect up there and think you're terrible, when this whole time you should be comparing you to used-to-be-you! If you do better today than you did yesterday, you're better than you've ever been. You should be proud of that." Henry stands up and resumes his pantomime flight. "Wow... Thanks Henry. That's rather wise of you. Something I'd never expect from you. No offense." Sumia smiles and gives him a warm hug. He stops playing and embraces her in return. "Soooo do I deserve that flyover now?" Henry asks hugging her around the neck closer. "Sure, why not." Sumia says smiling. She loosens the reins of her pegasus and drops her supplies on the ground to make room. Henry jumps right on the back of her mount as she orders it to take to the sky.

Henry lets his arms out and flaps them as the fast cold wind hits his palms. Sumia flies through a cloud and gets pelted with water. The pegasus shakes itself dry, loosening the harness around its neck. Sumia pulls back and fears she may fall, her last ride ending as a clumsy mess like everything else. Her life flashes before her eyes, until Henry's arms wrap around her midsection, Holding fast to the reins. Their mount slows to descending speeds. Sumia turned back to look at Henry. "Oh my gods, I thought my klutziness was finally going to be the end of me! You saved me... Thank you." Henry smiles and puts a hand on the bottom of her chin, as if he were to kiss her, but that was not to be. "Nyahahaha, I did save you, huh? Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." He pulls her neck up and she gasps, grasping at his hand futilely. Henry twisted the reins around her neck. She tried pushing away, but there was nothing that could be done; she was trapped between the void below, and the psychopath behind. She struggled, jabbing him with her elbows, only making him giggle more as he shoved her off of her mount. She hung helplessly around the neck of her trusted steed, screaming internally. Her face contorted as the reins tightened. She dangled helplessly, kicking her legs and tugging at her neck, but there was no escape. Her last terrifying moments were permanently etched into her face as her life drifted away... "Bye bye, Sumia."

Henry chuckled and slapped at the pegasus, forcing to fly faster. Its mistress still hanging on its neck like a grim pendant. He held out his arms , smiling in childish glee. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"


	5. Part 5: Miriel

"Henry walked back to camp with a spring in his step. He had just spent the night hiding in the forest with the bodies of four of his victims, who in turned lured a fifth into his grasp. He danced with his skeletal partners gleefully until the sun rose, causing his new friends to turn limp and fall to dust. "Nyahaha, I was having so much fun I'm not even tired. I love that!" He smiled from ear to ear and giggled his schoolchild tone, "Today is going to be another great day."

A study is always such a quite place, it has to be for focus. Miriel's study is the quietest. The walls are reinforced with magic so no outside noise can pierce it, letting her be alone with her tests and her own heartbeat. It's easy to see how the sound of another heartbeat chilled her to the bone. She turned around and rubbed her spectacles to see the source of the noise: it the low heartbeat of her fellow magic wielder Henry. "Heya Miriel!" He exclaimed, so loud it echoed in the tempered environment. "Woooow, this room is awesome! Echoooooooooo" "Henry! Desist at once." Miriel said, "If you can't properly hypothesis, I'm in the middle of calculations." Henry giggled and pinched his lips shut. "May I ask why you're here to begin with?" "Mrff murmurrr merf mrmrmrm." Miriel sighed, "You may speak your answer without your fingers muffling the noise." "Oh okay, nyaha I'd thought I'd have to do that all day! Anyway, I just had this brilliant idea!" "Brilliant would imply something exceptionally clever, are you certain your idea fits this cryter-" "Yeah yeah that's great Miriel let me say it: What if there was some way to fix your eyes? I noticed you wear glasses all the time, what if there was a way to make you see again without them?" Miriel leaned against the table and put her index finger on her chin. "That does sound brilliant, yet I'm ashamed it never occurred to me first. Quickly, take this pen and equipment, we must start planning this right away!"

The normally silent study was alive with conversation as the dark mage and the scientist created plans to let her see again. "Suppose I wear something inside my eye that serves the same purpose?" "Ummm, nah you'd have to put them in and out, and that might ouchie. Oooo how about we make your glasses invisible?" "Unsatisfactory, if I were to misplace them I would never find them again." this back and forth ideas were all written down in long explanations that littered the floor. It was easy to tell which notes were whose however, while Miriel wrote them in neat fine detail with a quill pen, Henry's were mostly scribbles and drawings with bright crayon. Henry crumpled up a drawing of a spectacle-less Miriel and jumped onto the table crying "Eureka! Nyahaha!" Miriel jumped and dropped her hat, "What? Explain." "I've always wanted to say that." Miriel swipes her hat off the ground and grows frustrated "Please don't without reason Henry. You'll induce cardiac arrest in me." Suddenly, Henry got and idea. He sat cross legged on the table and hung his lead low. "In me... in me... in me?... I got it Miriel! In you! That's how we fix your eyes, we have to do it from the inside!" Henry slapped his knees and jumped off the table, picking up wads of notes and throwing them in the air. "An internal operation? Well, the logic is sound. We can alter the shape of my corneas and give me perfect vision. Henry, you've cracked the enigma!"

The medical bay was empty this time of day, it reeked of disinfectants and rubbing alcohol that Libra and his monks sterilize with. There were rows of surgery tables made of metal and a collection of tools used to treat battle wounds. Henry ransacked the selves and found a blanket and pillow. He laid them out for Miriel and she rested her head on it. He put on a medical coat and a nurse's cap. "Nyaha, look at me! The doctor is in!" "Remember Henry: use a highly accurate monochromatic heat spell on the cornea of my eyes. I stress caution, any mistakes could render me sightless." Henry was not paying attention, he was making a balloon animal out of Libra's gloves. "Huh? Oh yeah sure sure be super careful. Look, I made a turkey!" Suddenly Miriel questioned her assistant's competency, but he was a magical prodigy, and her meticulous mind demanded answers even if she had to be the test subject. She removed her glasses and the world became a blur. She laid her head down and stared at the cloudy image of the med bay ceiling. It was visited by a pale ghostly form looking down at her. "Comfy there?" Henry asks as he puts her under a numbing solution. Miriel is all but blind, she instructs Henry what page and what spell to use, and waited for the sound of pages flipping. "Do you find it? Confirm Henry, confirm." "Ummm hang on." Henry crossed his fingers as if telling a lie. He whispers the incantation and his fingertips alight. "Don't close your eyes okay?" Miriel nodded and took in a deep breath, "Begin."

There was a huge red orb at the corner of her eye, everything else was a cloudy spot of dull color to her. Within a few moments however, she started noitcing things; little details on the ceiling, a flying beetle above them, and Henry looking down focusing the spell more. "Oh, Henry it's working! What Rapture I can see!" She was able to see every imperfection in the sewing of the tent, it was an exciting experience. "Nyahaha, this is really fun." Henry says. Miriel was too enthralled by her new found vision to notice his spell's power was increasing until the shapes and colors began to fade again. Her eyes burned intensely as if the sun was inside her skull. Blood became the only color she could see. "No! No Henry stop I can't see again! Hold! Henry! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" "Nyahahahahahahhahaha!" Miriel sat up and clutched her melted eye, disoriented and sedated she stumbled and falls to the floor. She presses her palm against her eye and screams in the most intense pain. Then she falls to the floor, dead from the sudden blood loss. Henry picks up her body and sits her up on the table. Her eye is a hollow black hole dripping globs of blood. It smells of burning flesh. He cups his hands under the empty hole in her face and fills his hands with warm plasma. He splashes it on his face and laughs. "Nyahahahhahaha! This is the warmest I've ever seen you! Bye bye Miriel." He spins and splatters blood around him before skipping out of the medical tent. He howls into the air "Yoo hoooo! The doctor is out!"


	6. Part 6: Panne

Henry sits at the dinner table wiping his cheek. He had just finished rare beef fresh from the deli; his favorite. "Yum. Ahhh always reminds me of Mommy Wolf, the taste of fresh blood between my lips." He smiles devilishly as his stomach grumbles. "What? I'm still hungry? But I just ate that whole steak. Stupid tummy." Just then he sees Panne walk by picking a carrot from the produce rations. Her hair and ears are pulled back and her armor is loosened. "Hey there Panne, why so messy-looking?" Panne glares back stoically as always, "I'm going to explore. The Taguel need to pave new rabbit runs." "Hehe sounds fun can I come?" Panne looks shocked "No. I can't let a human come with me that's... that's insulting." Panne turns and leaves red in the face. Henry watches her walk away, and licks his lips. "I. Am. Starving." Henry style="box-sizing: border-box;" /br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Panne holds out her arms as she takes a deep breath of fresh air. She has found the perfect forest for a run far into the Chon'sin mountains. It was snowing lightly and the air was still. She stretches and sniffs the air. "No birds, how odd" Panne thinks, she sniffs again "No scent of predators either, but there's some thing there air... something... vaguely familiar." She walks briskly towards the smell, clutching her BeastStone carefully. Suddenly, she hears the rustling of a nearby bush and she turns on her heel to meet it. She growls and holds the stone to her heart. "For the Warren!" She stood ready for an attacker, and then she realizes it's just a pair of squirrels playing in the bush. She stands there embarrassed and sighs. "Ugh how stupid of me. Why am I so tense?" She falls to one knee, takes deep breaths and continues on into the woods.

The forest was known by natives as sacred for it's odd growth pattern: without any rhyme or reason it would have tree-less clearings in perfect squares. Chon'sin legend chalks it up to gods or evil spirits, but none of that mattered to an outsider like Panne. She did however feel the clearings unnerving; as if she was defenseless when entering the empty spaces. Panne sniffs the air again. "Still no predators. Not even snakes or birds of prey. Erg this is more stressful than if I could smell them! This is a forest where are the animals?-" "ARRROOOOOOOOOOO!" There was no mistaking that howl, no mistaking the abject fear Panne felt from ears to feet; it was a wolf cry. She froze for the moment and then dashes madly out of the clearing. "How could I not know? How could I not know?" she screams in her head. "ARRROOOOOOOO!" Her heart pulses as trees whiz by her. Her foot catches on a root and she stumbles to the ground scared. She's covered in cuts from the fall on her face and arms but has no choice but to get back up and keep running. Another high pitch howl pierces the air and her instincts tell her: you can not stop!

Panne breathes heavily and sees light between the trees, she darts to it and closes her eyes, not a wise decision. She slams into an obstacle at full power and rolls along the ground with it. She clutches her head and stumbles up to her knees, it was Henry she ran into, he was on his back bruised from impact. "H-Henry?" she says, "Are you alright?" Henry turns his head and closes his eyes, "World... spinning... face... hurting... Panne?" He opens them and holds himself by his palms. "Oh you're alright. We have to get out of here right now!" "Out? But why? I was looking for some animal friends." "Henry there are hardly any animals here... except I keep hearing howling, I'm being hunted!" "Howling huh?" Henry reaches for a cut on her cheek and rubs the fresh blood on his lips, "mmm, was it something like..." He cups his hands, "ARRRROOOOO!" Pannes screams and jumps back stumbling to her back, and with crazed ferocity Henry jumps onto her. She claws and struggles trying to escape but it was too late, she was but a rabbit caught in the jaws of a wolf. Henry struck her on the face and pulled her head back. She screamed though no one could hear it and he howled into the air again before lunging his mouth onto her throat. She grabs his head and screams but he only bites down harder. He penetrates her skin and she feels the blood fill her throat as she chokes. Her coughs and hacks are silenced by Henry biting down on her, crushing her trachea beyond recognition. She twitches and tries to keep her grip on Henry, but fades as soon the final blow is given. Henry licks his lips and giggles like a small child. He gnaws on her neck and suckles the fresh warm blood dripping from it. Panne's once lively face becomes a pale corpse's that Henry holds gently on his lap. "Tee hee. Just like Mommy Wolf used to make. Juuuuust like it."

The following morning Ricken stretches and brushes his teeth. He had a good dream, but a bit mature of his age, about his taguel friend Panne curling up next to him. He could even feel her soft warm fur. He saw it as a sign of a good day to come. He sat down at the dinner hall alone that morning, but smelled a very good scent coming from the kitchen. He peered in and to his disappointment it was Henry, his least favorite person, dressed in a chef's hat. Henry had a pot taller than he was and was stirring it with a ladle "What are you doing up early?" He asked rubbing his eyes, "Oh, just cooking. I... tee hee hee.. I caught a rabbit recently and I'm stewing her- I mean it. Want some for breakfast?" Ricken grimaced knowing Panne would never approve, but Panne wasn't here, and he was hungry. "Well, that would make a nice breakfast. If you want to share I guess. "Sure Ricken." Henry whispers, churning the thick meat broth "I'd be happy to share my kill, it's what wolves do." He waited for Ricken to leave and then scooped out an eyeball floating in the soup and opened his mouth, "Bye bye, Panne."

"Scruptious."


	7. Sends Shivers Down Your Spine: You!

You hear Henry's laugh in the distance. You run to investigate what's causing him to laugh so loudly. That unnerving sound of his draws nearer, and you gasps in terror!

"Nya ha ha ha!" He laughs, rolling around on the grass like a dog. Hanging from the trees are your friends: Lissa, Olivia, Sumia, and Maribelle all bound up by their ankles to the tops of branches, swaying in the wind lifelessly. "Hehehehehe hey buddy! Here for the show?" "oh my gods! Henry what have you done?!" "What? Aw come on we're just having a little fun; my kind of fun!" He giggles more, "Henry! You-you've killed them all!" "I know isn't that awesome?! I haven't even gotten to the best part yet!" He jumps to his feet and starts to dance wildly, making rabid howls as he spin. Finally he flicks his wrists, and the corpses of your comrades begin to shake and reach for the ground! You hear the sound of tearing muscles and cracking bones, and you watch in horror as the skeletons of your allies squeeze out of their flesh like toothpaste! everyone's skeleton drops to the forest floor as their fleshy leftovers wave like gory flags. You fall to your knees and vomit in disgust, looking back up you begin to cry and scream, begging for Henry to stop this!

"Nayahahahaha I can't," he says "There's no getting off Mr. Bones' Wild Ride!" He flaps his arms up and flicks his wrists back and forth, making the trembling bones rise up and chatter their teeth together like laughter. You try crawling away but are too disgusted to move, only able to inch up against a tree in horror. "Aw look at them, so lively!" He proclaims, causing you to weep louder, then he puts his left hand over his head, you gasp as the bloodied skeletons mirror his movements perfectly. The Twisted Mind spins on one foot like a ballerina and hops around cheerily, he begins to chant: "Spooky Scary Skeleton sends shivers down your spiiiine! Shrieking skulls will shock your soul and seal your doom tonight!" and like demented backup dancers they circles him, jumping up and down on one foot twirling, sending blood flying with each spin. They join hands and spin around Henry as he giggles with gory glee. they fall to the ground in unison and make snow-angels around Henry, "This is the best day of my liiiiife!" Henry screams. they stand up, Lissa's corpse leans back as Maribelle's and Olivia's hold it up, Sumia's tears off two of her own ribs and play's Lissa like a xylophone. "Gods Henry please stop!" You cry out, but he doesn't care, he's too busy having the time of his life.

Henry hums and claps to the beat of this band of bones, yelling for more and more, but the skeletons stop playing and hang their fetid skulls in shame. You pause not understanding why they stopped... is it over? "Nyahahaha, oh I see now," Henry says, "This next act needs a fifth member!" The skeletons turn to you and chatter their teeth like demented cackles. Your eyes widen in fear "N-no... no no no no!" You plead, Henry snaps both his hands and begins to dance to a beat no one else can hear, making the skeletons creep towards you with lanky arms stretched. They hold onto your limbs with bloody fingers as you cry more. Henry does the chant again: "Spooky scary skeletons sends shivers down your spiiiiiiine!" You feel your skin stretch and your muscles peel off your skeleton, you yell so loud your vocal chords snap, only making it easier for your neck bones to spill out of you, just before you feel your own skull tear out of your face, you see Henry's sickening smile, a little childish wave, and his voice saying : "Bye bye."

Author's note: Obviously taking grotesque inspiration from Spooky Scary Skeletons, a song by Andrew Gold in 1996. A video is here watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w


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